Yukon Blonde at home on the road

With a rich tapestry of musical influences including Fleetwood Mac and America weaved through its music, Vancouver-based band Yukon Blonde is getting set to wind down promotion on its latest, self-titled, effort.

After releasing the album in early 2010, the group has been busy, supporting bands like Halifax’s In-Flight Safety as well as critically acclaimed (but now defunct) indie rockers The Constantines.

Yukon Blonde’s only southeastern New Brunswick appearance will be next Wednesday night at George’s Roadhouse, located at 67 Lorne St. in Sackville.

After battling some of the worst winter elements that nature could offer a touring band over the course of the past two weeks, Yukon Blonde member Brandon Scott was relaxing on a day off in Sudbury, ON when he checked in via telephone with the Times & Transcript.

Scott says the band is playing upwards of 35 dates on its current run of shows. The tour will route the three-piece from one side of the country to the other, with the band eventually finding its way home to British Columbia through a series of shows in the United States.

Asked if the band has already done some leg-work in the U.S., Brandon says that Yukon Blonde was fortunate enough to have toured through the bulk of the continental U.S. over the course of the past year.

“We were able to secure a tour with the band Good Old War which ended up being phenomenal,” he starts. “We played a lot of all-ages shows which was a little different for us; Good Old War have a really great following so most of the shows were sold out which was an amazing experience to have for our first tour of the States.”

With their touring commitments behind their newest record wrapping up, Brandon says that everyone in the band is looking forward to its imminent return to Vancouver. This is in spite of the fact that neither he nor his band mates actually have a place to call home.

“Being in a band is what we do. None of us have day jobs nor do we have homes to return to so knowing that we are going home is actually a little on the frightening side,” he says plainly.

Brandon says that the group’s commitment to its craft and the fact that the band mates would be on the road for a significant amount of time meant that there was little sense in any of them paying rent on places that they would not be around to inhabit.

“Not having homes is a big reason why we try to keep ourselves as busy as possible. We are lucky in that we have families that are great sources of support and do as much as they can for us. But one thing is for sure, we aren’t rich by any means,” Brandon laughs.

“But each of us share this focus for our music where nothing else really matters so it all works out in a strange way.”